1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to packages and containers, and more particularly to a package for confections containing a game using the confections as playing pieces.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Confectionery gift items are known such as candy-letters which consist of a box of candies with a personal card or letter enclosed which may be mailed others. It has also been known to make chocolate reproductions of various items including popular board games such as Monopoly.
Crossword puzzles and anagram games are known wherein words or phases are formed by the puzzel solver by responding to a given definition and adding the corresponding word in a row or column or adding one or more letters in sequence in a number of different directions to form words of their choice. There are several patents which disclose various word puzzle games.
James, U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,830 discloses a word puzzle game wherein a base is provided with plurality of rows of letters and punctuation symbols at fixed locations in the rows. A plurality of template outlines of various shapes are located in fixed positions among the letters and punctuation marks. A plurality of letter bearing movable elements of corresponding shape and size to the templates are superimposed in registry whereby the letters form a completed predetermined phrase.
Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 3,396,972 discloses a game apparatus having a numerical scoring feature. Individually colored and lettered game pieces or tiles are employed to construct words on a game board. The tiles coact with both printed and colored indicia on the game board to produce a score possibility on every move during the course of play.
Moss, U.S. Pat. No. 3,053,537 discloses a word building game having a plurality of game pieces, some bearing a single letter, some two letters, and others having three letters. The pieces are provided with a rotatable carrier for the letters whereby the sequence of the letters may be reversed.
Trbojevich, U.S. Pat. No. 1,629,601 discloses an improvement in the well known crossword puzzle game wherein the black squares are replaced with a system of heavy vertical and horizontal lines to separate the words from each other.
British Pat. No. 885,340 discloses a word race game wherein each player has a playing surface divided into squares some of which are plain and others are colored or contain a letter. The squares extend from a starting point to a finish point. The roll of a die determines the letters to be inserted in the plain squares so as to form, with letters already provided, complete words.
The present invention is distinguished over the prior art in general, and these patents in particular by providing a package for confections which contains a game utilizing the confections as playing pieces and which may be consumed by the player after using them to complete a selected phrase.
The package includes a plurality of individual playing piece confections, some of which display letters of the alphabet, and a playing surface having series of crossing lines defining a grid containing a plurality of similar enclosed spaces slightly larger than the confections. Some of the spaces display letters of the alphabet arranged in a pattern to form a predetermined phrase when filled in with additional letters whereby the phrase is initially unintelligible and unknown to the player. Certain of the lettered confections when positioned by the player on the grid in initially blank spaces complete the initially unknown phrase.
The game package container encloses the playing piece confections, the playing surface, and an answer sheet secreted from the player containing the correct completed phrase. Alternatively, the playing surface may be provided with blank spaces, or a second playing surface included with the package having a grid on which another person may superimpose letters of the alphabet to form a custom personalized phrase created by the other person and initially unintelligible and unknown to the player or person receiving the package.